All things Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I'd be jealous if I didn't have such a sweet disposition.
Chapter 6
Little by little, Karin felt herself rising out of a dream state. Groggily, she wondered where she was but then decided she didn't care. What was making itself known was an unpleasantly pressing need for bladder relief. Reality, the ultimate wake up call.
When finally at a state of awareness, she realized every nerve in her body was feeling the sensation of pins and needles. Delightful. Between the that and the bladder issue it was obvious that she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep so she might as well give up the attempt.
As she rose to different levels of awareness, the young woman became conscious of a blanket covering her and a few layers of soft material underneath her. A fire was crackling near her and she could hear the occasional pop or sizzle along with an odor of pine-scented smoke filling the…Karin cracked open a lid to verify, yes it was dark so…night air then. One side of her face registered the radiating heat, warming one side of her body while the other was left cool. Ah, the many perks of camping.
The redhead resisted the pressing urge, willing it to go away because she would rather go back to sleep, but a certain persistent organ resisted her mental command.
That's when she took note of the low murmur of voices. Listening in, she hoped to learn something about her fate.
"Are you sure no one is near us? How do you know?" asked a bright, cheery voice. Oh, it was him, of the warm, fuzzy chakra. Still, there was that sniff of darkness underneath.
It was easy to tell which one was the host of the demon fox. Although right at the moment she wasn't sensing too much of anything; it was as if her sensor ability was numbed out from acute and severe fatigue and chakra depletion.
"Oh, you know that idea of yours about sending them out in another direction?"
The blonde boy must have nodded as there wasn't a reply and the older ninja kept talking.
"Did you really think it would work?"
"Well…"
"Think about it this way, outside of pranks, have you ever been known for pulling off schemes that would cause others to believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are in possession of higher-level intel?"
There was a pause.
"And, that you also know how to use such knowledge to your advantage like, oh let's say, someone from the Nara clan for instance."
"Aw shaddup," came the grumbled reply.
There was a pause but this time it was coming from the silver-haired man.
"I get ideas too ya know!" the voice now asserted.
"Of course you do, but in the meantime, before starting on another mission, I had the nin-pack take the sheet from her bunk, then cut up into shreds, and sent them out to mark a trail that would make it seem like it was hers. It would lead them in the opposite direction, toward Suna, and other lands, just to back you up."
"But, but,… why would you do that?"
"Actually, that's not important right now. What I want to talk to you about is this whole adoption thing."
"Yep, that's what I'm gonna do!" Now the voice sounded bright and cheerful again.
"Have you thought this through?"
Karin wondered what they could be talking about adopting, a kitten maybe, or a puppy? He couldn't be old enough to adopt a kid; he was younger than she was. Leaf nin, all wound up weird in different directions. After all, Orochimaru was from their village, which goes to prove my point.
"Don't need to think about it. I'm gonna adopt her as my sister and we're gonna be a family!"
"Er Naruto, what if she doesn't want to be adopted?"
Yeah, thought Karin, who could possibly want to live with energy that reeked of chakra ranging from soft and cuddly to frothing-at-the mouth psycho? She would like to meet that person.
"Besides, she and I have the same last name already! It only makes sense seeing as there aren't many of us left from the Whirlpool clan."
"True, not many who bear the name 'Uzumaki'.
Who could he be…." Karin nearly swallowed her tongue. Her?! He wanted to adopt her?! That was impossible, ridiculous, stupid, and…and… the whiskered freak must be out of his bleeding mind! Besides she was older than him, if anyone was going to do any adopting around here it should be her!
She was just about to roll over to yell graphic insults at him when the silver-haired ninja asked, "Ready to join us Karin Uzumaki?"
"What, she's awake?" She heard feet bounding toward her and suddenly feeling vulnerable, sat up and pushed the blankets off her, preparing to… do what exactly? She was in no condition to battle a mouse.
"Oh, she's been awake for a while now listening to our conversation."
"But why? We're not gonna hurt her."
The blonde Uzumaki squatted down next to her with hands dangling over his knees as he surveyed the girl's suspicious glower which was a little unfocused and vague until she found her glasses and jammed them on her face. Then the glower got specific and aimed in the right direction.
Two impossibly bright blue eyes beamed at her over a huge, warm smile. It was unnerving to the Sound kunoichi. Friendly acceptance practically shone from every pore in his face. He was also inches away as if the idea of personal space was only a mere suggestion not meant to be taken seriously.
If she were honest with herself, Karin would have noted that the action was reminiscent of her own behavior; people had hinted that she wasn't noted for respecting boundary lines either. Still, she leaned back from the intense searching look. Friendly was a foreign concept to her.
"I'm sure she has a hard time believing you after all the criminal types she has had to live with over the years," Kakashi remarked dryly. "And you might want to back up a bit, seeing as she seems a mite skittish."
Naruto was still staring deeply into Karin's eyes, causing her to lean away from him. Yes, she was definitely feeling a little crowded here. Also the thought arose that for the first time since losing her last living parent, someone was actually seeing her, the real her, not the persona projected to the world every day of her life. If that was so, he would be the first and it was making her exceedingly uncomfortable.
"Naruto," Kakashi cautioned again, "girls don't like it when guys they are unsure of get in their personal space."
Naruto looked over his shoulder, turning those huge blue eyes away from Karin (which was a relief) over to Kakashi for a moment thinking about what his former sensei had said. Then it sunk in. Whipping his head back, the blonde laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, heh, sorry about that Sis!"
"Ss..ssis?" She stuttered out, at how preposterous this situation was getting. "I…I'm an only child! An orphan!" she insisted.
"Not anymore!" Naruto practically crowed, making her wince. His cheerful blue eyes were shining with excitement. "This is gonna be great! Two orphans who are now family!"
"But.. but…" feeling very out of her depth, Karin looked over to Kakashi waiting for him to jump in and stop the madness, unaware she wore an expression that clearly communicated: 'Is he insane!?'
Kakashi watched her from under a half-lowered eyelid before giving a shrug and dropping his eye to stare down at the fire.
This was an interesting development and he wasn't sure how it would fit in with other plans in the works. Even if he accepted this, it was doubtful that it would be received among the Konoha leadership with anything remotely resembling approval. But it sounded like he wasn't the only one with reservations about this impending sibling graft. He looked up again upon hearing her voice protesting vehemently.
"You.. you can't just decide something like that on your own! And besides a kid your age can't go around adopting other people as siblings without their say-so, especially when they are the ones who are older! It's just not done!"
"Well, I've decided that it is, so it's now it's a thing!"
Wide red eyes stared at him with mouth dropping open in disbelief before turning to the silver-haired man whose shoulders were beginning to shake.
Pointing a finger at the blonde Uzumaki, she turned to frown at the Copy Ninja asking incredulously, "Is he serious!? Tell me he's not serious!"
Upon being the recipient of her outraged glare, Kakashi ducked his head down and hunched his shoulders. At times like these it was best to make oneself as small of a target as possible, especially when the desire to laugh was becoming overwhelming. He was a jounin dammit and this wasn't funny! He shot a quick glance at the two who were now confronting each other, both with lowered brows and bottom lips stuck out in twin expressions. No, he was wrong, this was definitely funny!
Tamping down the desire to chuckle Kakashi scratched the fabric covering his cheek while quickly collecting himself. He was older and more mature and should be setting an example, and then shrugged slightly thinking, Why start now?
A grin spread across his face and he was suddenly glad his face was covered and head lowered. Finally, he put on an indifferent expression and then looked up to find two sets of Uzumaki eyes watching him.
Time to get it together, Kakashi. "When he says it like that, it's a done deal. You might as well get used to calling him 'brother'," explained Kakashi as he stood, and reached arms up overhead in a stretch before heading over to his own bedroll which was already laid out.
"You're up for watch first Naruto."
"Right!"
Karin thought about devising a plan to trick the blonde and then make a break for it. That barely formed thought was derailed as her bladder took that moment to repeated the demand of earlier and it meant now instead of later.
"ARGH!" she yelled and leaped up; or at least that was intent. Instead she teetered forward and would have fallen flat on her face if Naruto hadn't been there to catch her, keeping her from doing a face plant into the ground.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt, wounded, bleeding, sick or…" he jerked her up and down in search of any injuries.
"Sstoopp! Sshhaaakkiinnn! Mmee!" Karin's voice shuddered with every jerk.
When the worried visage in front of her stopped vibrating, or maybe it was just her own brain still sloshing around inside her skull, she waited until her feet were on the ground again and then leaned forward.
When Karin was nearly nose to nose with him she snarled into his face, "WHAT THE HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?! Were you dropped on your head as a pup or Something?!"
Then her face did an abrupt change as that which was urgent reminded her of what was a priority. The female sensor tried to break away and turn, but the kyuubi host had a rock hard grip locked onto her biceps. Imitating a rubber band, Karin stretched and pulled away before being forced to bounce back, the end result was the two of them slamming noses.
"Agh! Yamn! Ow, ow, ah! My noz!" Naruto dropped his hold on her and bent over grabbing his nose with both hands, muffling his cries of pain.
"Agh! Youble yamn! Fab hurb, you ibiob!" Tears sprang unbidden at the sharp pain. Quickly she squeezed them shut while bending over also.
It wasn't but seconds before the two had straightened and while holding their respective noses began yelling in the other's face.
Kakashi watched them for a moment and wisely opted not to chuckle despite the scene being played out in front of him. Priceless, and him without a camera.
He watched without concern when Karin, suddenly dropping her hold on her nose, spun around and stumbled for the edge of the tree line. He was pretty sure the rest of it was going to play out like-
"Heyb!" Realizing that trying to talk with his hand on his nose and blocking his mouth was hindering him from sounding serious, Naruto dropped his hand to restate, "Hey! Are you trying to escape?!"
"Yes, you dolt, I am!" Karin yelled back over her shoulder, "You've caught on to my brilliant plan! I'll leap into the bushes where I'll pee my way to freedom and no one can stop me! Haaa haa haaa!" She stopped, scowled from under a deep frown, and informed him, "You are an idiot. I. Have. To. Pee. Don't make me break out the sock puppets to explain this."
The blonde youth cheeks burned a brilliant red and turned wide, pleading eyes on Kakashi, silently looking for a little input from someone who had, oh say a million, missions under his belt.
Naruto studied the top of his former sensei's silver head watching he suddenly became totally engrossed with reading the ever so familiar orange book that had suddenly appeared in his hands like magic when, a moment ago, he had been empty-handed. The silver-haired jounin leisurely turned a page.
He finally gave in and asked, "Kakashi? A little help?"
"No, no, you're doing fine, keep up the good work young 'Hokage-in-training'."
Naruto jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "How we gonna keep her from running off?"
"How indeed."
Here Naruto, feeling the quiet behind his back that was more absence of someone's presence than mere stillness, turned to find-
"She's gone!"
Kakashi pointed a finger over the top of the book.
Naruto followed the direction of his finger and found it pointing at a very large bush.
The orange-clad youth stared at it for a moment and swiveled back to Kakashi and whispered, "Behind that?"
"Would you?"
"No."
"I doubt she would either."
There was a beat before the whiskered youth whispered again, "So probably a little further out then?"
"One can only hope."
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Naruto gave Kakashi a quizzical look and then asked, "And how can we tell when she's done?"
"Well, she's not going to ring a bell."
"So what should I do, go look?"
"Not at the moment, if I were you. Give her a couple of minutes. Girls are kinda sensitive about their special time with the great outdoors, so don't be a stalker."
"I'M NOT A STALKER!" He glowered at his former teacher daring him to accuse him further. Seeing that Kakashi was immersed in his reading Naruto crossed his arms and tapped his foot. It didn't seem to be making any impression as the sound of another page turned was the only thing heard in the silence of the camp.
Finally, he asked, "Well?"
"Well what?" Kakashi chuckled at something he found amusing, read for a bit longer and then turned another page. Naruto watched, lip out, arms folded across his chest radiating righteous indignation with eyes narrowed at his former sensei. Seeing nothing was happening from Kakashi's end, he said, "Well, we'll just see about this!"
The blonde looked over his shoulder and called out in a loud voice, "Izn't that right Sis!? Huh? Right!?" Turning back to the jounin he said, "When she comes out, we'll just see who the stalker….."
"She's gone."
"Huh?"
Kakashi stood up, stretched again and pocketed his book. "Have to give her credit though. Even now, she's doing her best to hide her chakra signature, but she's only seconds away. You want to go get her or should I?"
"I'll go," the blonde grumbled, heading for the bush, but stopped short and then started to go around it, just in case. He had no desire to step in any wet spots.
"Wait a second," Kakashi called out behind him, stopping Naruto in his tracks, "Come to think of it, I'm better at night tracking so I be able to find her quicker. You stay, get more logs and start on the (and here I cannot emphasize this enough) easy-to-make dinner packs. All you have to do is follow the directions on the back, which I trust you will do this time."
Naruto looked to one side, then up, and finally to the other in faked nonchalance, all the while whistling tunelessly.
"Oookay," he finally agreed, but added more confidently, "But call me if you need help!"
"Like that'll happen," muttered Kakashi as he took to the trees.
This was a fun chapter to write.
Next time
~Dwellin